Racing Roundup Arizonahttp://racingroundup.com
Have at it racersTue, 26 Sep 2017 14:36:58 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.4.11NOW YOU CAN OWN THE HOUSE OF FICTIONAL NASCAR LEGEND RICKY BOBBY Home in Lake Norman, North Carolina, listed at $4.2 million BY: MATT WEAVERhttp://racingroundup.com/now-you-can-own-the-house-of-fictional-nascar-legend-ricky-bobby-home-in-lake-norman-north-carolina-listed-at-4-2-million-by-matt-weaver/
Tue, 26 Sep 2017 14:36:29 +0000http://racingroundup.com/?p=8974The 9,802-square-foot home was used in the movie “Talladega Nights.”PHOTO BY IVESTER JACKSON DISTINCTIVE PROPERTIES & CHRISTIE’S INTERNATIONAL REAL ESTATE If you want to own the richest house in fictional NASCAR history, you better go fast. The beautiful Lake Norman, North Carolina, home of Ricky Bobby in the movie “Talladega Nights” was listed for sale earlier this week. Several […]

The 9,802-square-foot home was used in the movie “Talladega Nights.”PHOTO BY IVESTER JACKSON DISTINCTIVE PROPERTIES & CHRISTIE’S INTERNATIONAL REAL ESTATE

If you want to own the richest house in fictionalNASCARhistory, you better go fast.

The beautiful Lake Norman, North Carolina, home of Ricky Bobbyin the movie “Talladega Nights” was listed for sale earlier this week. Several scenes from the 2006 comedy were filmed inside the home, including the well-known dinner scene.

BOSTON (AP) — A man who led a failed effort to bring IndyCar racing to Boston is suing the city.

WGBH-FM reported on Thursdayformer Boston Grand Prix CEO John Casey has filed a lawsuit in Suffolk Superior Court seeking $15.5 million in damages.

Casey sued city Environment, Energy and Open Space chief Austin Blackmon this year. That lawsuit was dismissed in July because state law doesn’t allow public employees to be sued individually for negligence.

Casey argues in both lawsuits Blackmon waited months to inform race organizers about changes to federal flood maps, leading to delays in the permitting process that doomed the race. The Boston IndyCar race was slated for last Labor Day weekend.

]]>Aston Martin named as Red Bull’s 2018 title sponsorhttp://racingroundup.com/aston-martin-named-as-red-bulls-2018-title-sponsor/
Mon, 25 Sep 2017 14:25:46 +0000http://racingroundup.com/?p=8970By: Lawrence Barretto Aston Martin will become the Red Bull Formula 1 team’s title sponsor for the 2018 season. Aston joined Red Bull as an innovation partner ahead of the 2016 F1 season, with the duo working together to develop the Aston Martin Valkyrie hypercar. As predicted by Motorsport.com, the partnership has now moved to the next level and […]

The British carmaker’s brand is to feature “prominently” across the team.

As part of the arrangement, a new Advanced Performance Centre has been created onRed Bull’s campus in Milton Keynes.

It will create more than 100 jobs, house the development ofRed Bulland Aston’s next supercar project and foster closer collaboration between the two brands.

“Our innovation partnership with Aston Martin has been a pioneering project from day one,” saidRed Bullboss Christian Horner.

“Having conceived and created the remarkably successful Aston Martin Valkyrie together in 2016, we extended our relationship this year and are now delighted to further strengthen the Partnership and see the team competing as Aston MartinRed BullRacing in 2018.

“In addition, more than 100 Aston Martin staff will service the new Advanced Performance Centre on our campus here in Milton Keynes and it will allow us to collaborate further with Aston Martin on special, equally innovative, new projects.”

Aston Martin president and CEO Andy Palmer said his company has benefited from its involvement withRed Bullso far and added it is continuing to take a close interest in F1’s 2021 engine rules, having attended discussions on the topic.

However, he stressed Aston would only be interested in entering its own engine if the technology and costs are kept under control.

“Title partnership is the next logical step for our ‘innovation partnership’ withRed BullRacing,” said Palmer. “We are enjoying the global brand awareness that a revitalised Formula 1 provides.

“The power unit discussions are of interest to us but only if the circumstances are right.

“We are not about to enter an engine war with no restrictions in cost or dynamometer hours but we believe that if the FIA can create the right environment we would be interested in getting involved.”

]]>Richard Petty Says He’ll Fire Anyone Who Protests During The National Anthem And In NASCAR He’s Not Alonehttp://racingroundup.com/richard-petty-says-hell-fire-anyone-who-protests-during-the-national-anthem-and-in-nascar-hes-not-alone/
Mon, 25 Sep 2017 14:23:18 +0000http://racingroundup.com/?p=8967Richard Petty on Friday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Image: AP As the sports world continues to erupt over President Trump’s call for the NFL to get rid of the “son of a bitch” players who protest during the national anthem, one sport still giving Trump seemingly unequivocal support—at least among its owners—is NASCAR, where every crew […]

As the sports worldcontinues to eruptover President Trump’s call for the NFL to get rid of the “son of a bitch” players who protest during the national anthem, one sport still giving Trump seemingly unequivocal support—at least among its owners—is NASCAR, where every crew member stood for the anthem Sunday before the ISM Connect 300 in New Hampshire.

This was apparently in deference to NASCAR owners, many of whom made no secret of what would happen to anyone on their teams who dared do otherwise.

“Get you a ride on a Greyhound bus when the national anthem is over,” team owner Richard Childress responded when asked what he would do if one of his employees protested during the anthem. “I told them anyone who works for me should respect the country we live in. So many people have gave their lives for it. This is America.”

Team owner Richard Petty, who won a record-tying seven championships as a driver, said he would fire any employee that didn’t stand for the anthem.

“Anybody that don’t stand up for that ought to be out of the country. Period,” Petty said. “If they don’t appreciate where they’re at … what got them where they’re at? The United States.”

Walt Czarnecki, executive vice president of Penske Corp., said Team Penske has no policy regarding the issue and said, “it’s an issue we’ve never faced and don’t anticipate facing.”

]]>KYLE BUSCH CRUISES TO VICTORY IN MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP RACE AT NEW HAMPSHIREhttp://racingroundup.com/kyle-busch-cruises-to-victory-in-monster-energy-nascar-cup-race-at-new-hampshire/
Mon, 25 Sep 2017 14:22:05 +0000http://racingroundup.com/?p=8965Scores third win of 2017 season AUTOWEEK Kyle Busch drove away from Kyle Larson in the final laps en route to a fairly easily victory in Sunday afternoon’s ISM Connect 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The victory was the 2015 champion’s third at the 1-mile track near Loudon, his third this season and 41st of […]

Scores third win of 2017 season

AUTOWEEK

Kyle Busch drove away from Kyle Larson in the final laps en route to a fairly easily victory in Sunday afternoon’s ISM Connect 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The victory was the 2015 champion’s third at the 1-mile track near Loudon, his third this season and 41st of his career. His most recent Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory before Sunday had been at Bristol in August, four races ago.

With the victory, Busch and his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota team automatically advance to Round 2 of the championship-deciding playoff series next month at Charlotte, Talladega and Kansas City.

“It feels great,” Busch said. “This is what it’s all about, you know? We’re supposed to do these things and it feels even better when we can do those things and, you know, we’ve missed out on a lot of opportunities, I feel like, this year, but today we were able to execute all day long.”

“I mean, obviously you want to win,” Larson said. “And second is the first loser. But, second is also not bad; especially when you get to the playoffs. Winning is very important, but also consistency is just as important. We got a fifth last week and a second today with even better Stage points, so that was pretty much the day that we needed. Obviously, a win would have been great, but second was just as good.”

Busch, the pole-winner, led 39 of the first 40 laps and 148 of the next 260, generally without serious pressure. Truex easily led at the first 75-lap stage and Busch led at the second 75-lap stage. The 300-lap race featured only six lead changes among Busch (187 laps), Truex (112), and Larson (1).

The race’s only serious incident came when nine cars crashed together at lap 150, at the end of the second stage. Playoff drivers Truex, Hamlin, Austin Dillon, Kurt Busch and Kevin Harvick were involved, along with Danica Patrick, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his nephew, Jeffrey Earnhardt. Teammates Harvick and Kurt Busch were eliminated on the spot — they finished 36th and 37th, respectively — and suffered severe damage to their championship hopes. Truex suffered cosmetic damage and had to come from deep in the field to earn his top-five finish.

Busch and Harvick took serious points hits.

“We’re both running for the playoffs, and it’s a shame the handling was off,” Busch said of his and Harvick’s simultaneous DNFs. “But we were still going to fight all the way to the end, Now, we don’t have a chance. (Next week at Dover) is all-in. We’ll go there with everything we’ve got.”

Harvick’s car wasn’t badly damaged, but he couldn’t back it away from the scene and return to his pit for repairs.

“We couldn’t get unlocked from Kurt’s car for whatever reason,” he said. “Our Fords were locked together and I couldn’t get it to back up. I ripped reverse out trying to get it to go backwards.”

Busch, Harvick and Kasey Kahne (a late-race suspension failure) were the only playoff drivers with significant issues. Ricky Stenhouse had wall contact early, but managed to keep going and finished 15th. Hamlin never fully recovered (he finished 12th) after losing laps with an unscheduled pit stop early in the third stage. Other than Kahne, Harvick and Kurt Busch, every playoff driver finished on the lead lap, six of them in the top 10.

“Something broke,” Kahne said. “I think they said trackbar, but that is all I know I didn’t talk to Darien (Grubb, crew chief). But, that is what he had said while we were in the garage. We were working hard. We got really loose that first run and then got control of the car. And then it was really tough to pass, but we worked our way back up and were passing for 12th when that happened. Who knows how the final restarts go and all that, but we were making gains. I think we had a top-10 car if the restarts went the right waym otherwise a top 15 and we move on to Dover.”

The final race of the Round of 16 comes at Dover next Sunday with the Apache Warrior 400, where four drivers will be eliminated. Live coverage will be on the NBC Sports Network at 2:00 p.m. ET.

Brittany Force (Top Fuel), Bo Butner (Pro Stock) and Eddie Krawiec (Pro Stock Motorcycle) were also victorious in their respective categories at the second of six playoff events during the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Countdown to the Championship.

Capps secured his category-best seventh victory of the season and 57th of his career with a 3.968-second pass at 326.48 mph in his Napa Auto Parts Dodge Charger R/T to take down Courtney Force’s 3.993 at 311.70 in her Advance Auto Parts Chevy Camaro in the final round. Capps retook the points lead in the Countdown to the Championship with the victory.

“We got lucky a little bit in the first round, but we feel like our hard work makes our own luck for us and we were fortunate to win it with consistency,” Capps said. “We know this Funny Car class is as tough as it’s ever been, so we know this won’t be easy through the last four races of the year.”

Capps earned the third qualifying position and took down Jim Campbell, 2016 winner of the events Tommy Johnson Jr. and teammate Matt Hagan on the way to his tenth final round this season. C. Force qualified eighth and defeated Bob Tasca III, teammate Robert Hight and Jack Beckman as she reached her fourth final round of the season. She still without a win in 2017.

B. Force took down Steve Torrence in the final round of Top Fuel action with a 3.756 pass at 326.24 in her Monster Energy dragster to secure her second victory of the season and first since the event in Epping, N.H. in June. Force has now reached the final round at Maple Grove Raceway three times in her career, including in 2016.

“I’m so glad to have this entire Monster Energy team and this car ran pretty consistent through qualifying and on race day, so it’s because of my team that we got this win,” Force said. “I’ve been to the final round here three times and got taken down in the first two, so this one was a big one for us.”

Force entered Sunday as the No. 4 qualifier before defeating Wayne Newby, Tony Schumacher and reigning world champion Antron Brown on her way to the third final round of the year. Torrence qualified third and was victorious against Terry Haddock, Leah Pritchett and Dom Lagana as he reached his tenth final round this season. Torrence retook the points lead with the runner-up finish.

In Pro Stock, Butner drove to victory with a 6.613 at 209.95 in his Jim Butner’s Auto Chevy Camaro to defeat Greg Anderson’s 6.660 at 206.95 in his Summit Racing Equipment Chevy Camaro in the final round. He locked down his fourth career victory in Pro Stock, all four of which have come this season, as he reclaimed the lead in the Countdown to the Championship standings.

“I’m really excited about where we’re at, but we know there are still four more races left so we just have to keep doing our jobs,” Butner said. “We had eight good runs this weekend so things kind of worked in our favor this time around, and it shows how strong our team is.”

Butner was the No. 1 qualifier and continued his strong weekend with victories over Val Smeland, Erica Enders and Allen Johnson before reaching his ninth final round of 2017. Anderson earned the sixth slot in qualifying and defeated Brian Self, rookie Tanner Gray and teammate Jason Line on the way to his ninth final round of the season.

Krawiec rode to the Pro Stock Motorcycle victory with a 6.852 at 196.70 on his Screamin’ Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson to better LE Tonglet on his Nitro Fish Racing Suzuki in the finals. He earned his fifth victory of the season and third consecutive to improve his lead in the points standings.

“Things are definitely on the upswing since we switched back to last year’s chassis, it’s been huge for me and my team at the exact right time,” Krawiec said. “We didn’t start out as strong as we had hoped in qualifying, but we put it all together today and we’re pretty pleased with these results.”

Krawiec qualified fourth before taking down Kelly Clontz, teammate Andrew Hines and No. 1 qualifier Scott Pollacheck en route to the finals. Tonglet was the No. 7 qualifier and bested Angie Smith, teammate Jerry Savoie and Hector Arana Jr. as he finished as the runner-up for only the second time in his seven final rounds this year.

The 2017 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season continues with the AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals at Gateway Motorsports Park in St. Louis on Sept. 29-Oct. 1.

***

MOHNTON, Pa. — Sunday’s final results from the 33rd annual Dodge NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway. The race is the 20th of 24 in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series:

]]>TYLER REDDICK EARNS FIRST CAREER WIN IN NASCAR XFINITY SERIES PLAYOFFS OPENER AT KENTUCKY Wins by 14 seconds BY: CHRIS KNIGHThttp://racingroundup.com/tyler-reddick-earns-first-career-win-in-nascar-xfinity-series-playoffs-opener-at-kentucky/
Sun, 24 Sep 2017 18:00:49 +0000http://racingroundup.com/?p=8957Tyler Reddick hadn’t led a lap in his previous 14 races this season but led a race-high 66 laps Saturday night.PHOTO BY LAT PHOTOGRAPHIC Running a partial NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule this season, Tyler Reddick spoiled the party for the opening round of the Playoffs by earning his first career win in Saturday night’s VisitMyrtleBeach.com 300 at Kentucky Speedway. […]

Tyler Reddick hadn’t led a lap in his previous 14 races this season but led a race-high 66 laps Saturday night.PHOTO BY LAT PHOTOGRAPHIC

Running a partialNASCAR Xfinity Seriesschedule this season,Tyler Reddickspoiled the party for the opening round of the Playoffs by earning his first career win in Saturday night’s VisitMyrtleBeach.com 300 at Kentucky Speedway.

TheChip Ganassi Racingdriver took control of the lead 74 laps from the finish and never looked back. His 14.540-second margin of victory over teammate Brennan Poole was the largest in the series’ history at the 1.5-mile speedway in 16 years of competition.

“I don’t know if it was necessarily me making a statement, it was just Chip Ganassi Racing making a statement,” said Reddick, who earned the triumph in his 15th Xfinity Series start. “Me and Brennan (Poole) were really fast all night.

“We had a really fast car last weekend, our mile-and-a-half program has been unreal. Mike Shiplett (crew chief) brought me from ground zero all the way to here. All the guys at Ganassi have gone above and beyond in helping me become a better driver.”

Reddick who hadn’t led a lap in his previous 14 races this season, but led a race-high 66 laps Saturday night added, “To be here today is surreal. We had such a really fast car the last time we were here, to be able to bring it to victory lane, I knew the car was capable.”

Poole was also the highest-finishing playoff Xfinity Series Playoffs driver in the Round of 12.

“I just think it was a strong statement tonight,” said Poole, who earned his second top-five of 2017. “I’m proud of our Ganassi team coming up one-two. This is really a track that we have struggled at in the past. To come out and be strong in the first race of the playoffs is pretty awesome.

“I want to thank everyone who has put effort into this thing. It’s really showed off the past couple of months. We’ve been really consistent and been right there. A win’s coming for us.”

Playoff driver Justin Allgaier rebounded from a flat tire inside the event’s opening 25 laps and used a gutsy wave-around call and the beneficiary of a lap 75 free pass to bolt from a race-low 36th to finish third, his eighth top-five of 2017.

“My team at JR Motorsports obviously does a great job,” said Allgaier who is tied for the Xfinity Series points lead with Cole Custer. “We talked about not beating ourselves in the first Playoff race. It was unfortunate there getting a flat tire. It wasn’t in our control. We did what we had to do and persevered through it and we did a great job on pit calls and pit stops.

“I thought we had a car that maybe could win the race. After the race, I told my team we might not have won the playoffs tonight but we definitely salvaged what we needed to tonight to move ourselves forward.”

NASCAR Next alumnus Kyle Benjamin in his fifth start of the season led the field to green after earning his second-career pole, until Stewart-Haas Racing’s Custer muscled his way to the lead on Lap 42 and clinched his first career stage win.

With a two-tire strategy, Benjamin returned to the point to start Stage 2, but Custer soared back to the lead by the exit of turn two on lap 52 and dominated the stage to earn another 10 crucial stage points toward his playoff total.

Defending race winner Elliott Sadler elected to stay out at the end of Stage 2 and led the field back to green for the start of Stage 3 until Iowa Xfinity winner Ryan Preece on a similar strategy throttled to the lead on Lap 105 passing Sadler off turn two.

Reddick, with fresher tires, reeled in Preece for control of the race and made the pass on lap 126. He checked out from the field until he pitted with 49 laps to go for his final pit stop of the night.

Reddick cycled back into the lead 10 laps later, pulling away from the competition and ultimately setting the tone for the finish.

Notes: Following the opening round at Kentucky, playoff drivers Jeremy Clements, Michael Annett, Blake Koch and Brennan Gaughan find themselves below the cutoff line for the Round of 8. William Byron suffered a loose wheel late in the race, leaving little time to recover, finishing 18th. Still, he remains fifth in the playoffs standings with benefit from the stage points he acquired during the 2017 season.

]]>Start Fall Off The Right Way, With NASCAR BY: ALEX HEVSEYhttp://racingroundup.com/start-fall-off-the-right-way-with-nascar-by-alex-hevsey/
Sat, 23 Sep 2017 21:42:42 +0000http://racingroundup.com/?p=8955Welcome to the Jalopnik Weekend Motorsports Roundup, where we let you know what’s going on in the world of racing, where you can see it, and where you can talk about it all in one convenient place. Where else would you want to spend your weekend? IndyCar is over and Formula 1 isn’t back until […]

Welcome to the Jalopnik Weekend Motorsports Roundup, where we let you know what’s going on in the world of racing, where you can see it, and where you can talk about it all in one convenient place. Where else would you want to spend your weekend?

IndyCar is over and Formula 1 isn’t back until next week with the Malaysia Grand Prix. Fortunately we always have NASCAR to watch and even some MotoGP this week.

What will you be watching? And let us know if we missed anything in the comments.

Earnhardt has become vocal about several topics during his final full-time season

BY: MATT WEAVER

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Dale Earnhardt Jr. suspects something nefarious from drivers who blow out their tires following Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victories.

For whatever reason, the practice has become more commonplace since the advent of the Gen-6 race car back in 2013. In the name of parity, the NASCAR rule book has become so thick and detailed that it doesn’t provide many avenues for teams to work in to find an advantage.

A popular opinion in the garage nowadays is that winners destroy their tires while doing burnouts so they can damage the back-end of their cars to such a degree that NASCAR can’t put it through a rigorous post-race technical inspection.

It’s a perspective that Earnhardt subscribes to.

“It just seems like the [current] Gen-6 car once everybody started figuring out how to trick the underbody and things like that everybody blows the tires out,” Earnhardt said. “It is just hard for me to see the logic in suspending a crew chief, car chief for some tape flapping on the spoiler when the winner drives into Victory Lane with the rear of the car tore all to hell. I don’t see how that doesn’t come across anybody’s conscious or common sense. I don’t understand. It doesn’t make any sense to me.

“And it never has, I have been kind of waiting all this time for NASCAR to eventually say look you know we would just rather you guys not blow the tires out. They talk about not wanting to be the ‘fun police’ being the ‘fun police’ is not on the radar of their damn problems. You know, I don’t think they need to worry about — that is a cop out in my opinion. But, I think that you can do burnouts without blowing the tires out. That happened for years.”

Earnhardt’s teammate Chase Elliott was docked 15 points for unapproved aerodynamic modifications at Chicagoland Speedway last weekend. Elliott finished second to Martin Truex Jr. appeared to have tape on his spoiler after the race.

More to the point, Earnhardt says it’s obvious to him why drivers are executing monster burnouts and it has nothing to do with the current Cup Series title sponsor.

“NASCAR needs to step up,” he said. “They’re the governing body. It’s obvious it’s done intentionally. It’s not unintentional. And you cannot tech the race car. They have to jack it up and put tires on it. If you’re watching the video of these crewman trying to fix that tape on that spoiler of [Elliott’s] car, imagine what the hell’s going on with the car that gets to jack it up and put tires on it before it can go across the LIS.

“We could go on and on about it. It’s something I don’t really got to worry about no more after the end of this season. But, I’ve been feeling this way about the blowouts for a long time. It’s like damn, why don’t they just tell them to stop. You can do a damn burnout without blowing the tires out.”

]]>The Big Fart Fiasco At Formula One’s Singapore Grand Prix Press Conference Keeps Getting Better BY: ALANIS KINGhttp://racingroundup.com/the-big-fart-fiasco-at-formula-ones-singapore-grand-prix-press-conference-keeps-getting-better-by-alanis-king/
Fri, 22 Sep 2017 15:30:51 +0000http://racingroundup.com/?p=8950Screenshot via Juuso Peltola on YouTube Everybody laughs at farts. If they don’t, they need to reevaluate the meaning of joy. Farts are funny, and farts are even funnier when famous athletes let them rip to liven up a generic post-race press conference in one of the most strict, fancier-than-thou racing series there is: Formula One. “Athletes” being […]

Everybody laughs at farts. If they don’t, they need to reevaluate the meaning of joy. Farts are funny, and farts are even funnier when famous athletes let them rip to liven up ageneric post-race press conferencein one of the most strict, fancier-than-thou racing series there is: Formula One.

“Athletes” being plural in that first paragraph might have thrown you off if you saw the Singapore Grand Prix podium press conference, since it seemed like Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo (naturally) was the only one shameless enough to fart with all of those of cameras and people around. But Ricciardo toldFox Sports Australiaawhile after that it was really a deal between himself andthree-time champion Lewis Hamilton, who both had to fart and didn’t want to do it alone. Ricciardo’s fart was, uh, louder, so people at the press conference noticed. It led toanswers like thisfrom Hamilton:

“I feel like we distracted you. Have we distracted you? That was a very long-winded question. For those of you watching—we’re all a bit gassy up here. That’s why we are in tears.”

You can only watch thatFox Sportsvideo with Ricciardo linked above if you live in Australia, for no good reason other than to leave you wishing you knew more about this farting ordeal. But that’s alright, because Australian site news.com.auwrote up a summary and they sure did write it up well.

Here, just read it, emphasis ours for extra laughter:

By now everyone knows the rib-tickling momentDaniel Ricciardo let out a trouser coughat the Singpore Grand Prix press conference. …

“Lewis whispers to me before it and says ‘oh man, I really need to fart’,” Ricciardo said, shamelessly dobbing the three-time world champion.

“And I said ‘no crap, I do too … you go first then I’ll go’, because I knew mine was going to be louder.”

According to Ricciardo, the fashionable Hamiltonbarely made a squeak as he deposited his goods.

“He went and I didn’t even hear it and I was like ‘come on man’,” Ricciardo said, “(Then I said) alright stuff it, I’m gonna go’.

“It was a good moment, I think [Mercedes’] Valtteri [Bottas] tasted it on his lips, it was pretty good. I’m definitely going to be a groomsman at Lewis’ wedding.”

And from a differentnews.com.austory on the gassy press conference, emphasis ours, because it can’t get any better than this:

Ricciardo struck towards the end of the press conferencewhen the moderator called on any Finnish media to ask their questions to Bottas in his native tongue. …

He can be heard by broadcast microphones asking his F1 rivals if he has their permission to fart.

Bottas simply cannot deal with the Red Bull star’s engine malfunctionand responds to a question about the physical demands of the Singapore Grand Prix by saying it is even more difficult to be sitting through the press conference with Ricciardo.

“Try being here now when buddy just flew a kite right there next to me,” Bottas saysusing a Finnish slang term for letting fluffy off the chain.

That’s it. These fart descriptions are the only thing truly worthy of being on the internet. The rest of us have failed you, and for that we are sorry.

]]>THE SEBRING 1500: SEBRING’S WEC EVENT TO BE 1,500 MILES IN 2019http://racingroundup.com/the-sebring-1500-sebrings-wec-event-to-be-1500-miles-in-2019/
Fri, 22 Sep 2017 15:28:12 +0000http://racingroundup.com/?p=8948The WEC and IMSA (above) will share the stage at Sebring as part of the 2018-19 WEC “superseason.”PHOTO BY LAT PHOTOGRAPHIC Moves designed to separate race from Sebring 12 Hours on same weekend BY: GARY WATKINS The Sebring round of the World Endurance Championship in March 2019 will be a 1,500-mile race rather than 12 […]

The WEC and IMSA (above) will share the stage at Sebring as part of the 2018-19 WEC “superseason.”PHOTO BY LAT PHOTOGRAPHIC

Moves designed to separate race from Sebring 12 Hours on same weekend

BY: GARY WATKINS

The Sebring round of the World Endurance Championship in March 2019 will be a 1,500-mile race rather than 12 hours.

The move was revealed on the publication of the calendar forthe WEC “superseason”covering 2018 and the first half of 2019 up to and including the Le Mans 24 Hours by the FIA’s World Motor Sport Council.

The idea that the Florida venue’s 2019 WEC round could be of a different duration to the regular Sebring 12 Hours was first mooted on the announcement of the fixture earlier this month.

It is understood thatIMSAblocked the idea of a second Sebring 12 Hours starting just two hours after its own event.

The 1,500-mile distance equates to 402 laps of the 3.74-mile Sebring International Raceway, significantly more than the 348 laps completed by the winning LMP2-based Daytona Prototype international in this year’s 12 Hours.

But the higher speeds of the LMP1 machinery that will head the WEC field and, most likely, fewer safety cars used by the WEC race director are likely to lead to a duration similar to 12 hours.

The WEC will race on the same bill as the IMSA event over the weekend of March 16-17 in 2019.

The Sebring 12 Hours will begin at 10 a.m., with the WEC event scheduled to begin at midnight — two hours after the completion of the IMSA race.

Silverstone’s place on the superseason calendar with an August 2018 date has also been confirmed.

Silverstone wasn’t on the original schedule announced when the WEC unveiled its road map for the future of the series at the Mexico City round earlier this month, but the British venue has now stepped in to fill a TBA originally set for February 2019.

The superseason, which will encompass two editions of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, is the WEC’s way of transitioning into a winter-series format, with the series running across two calendar years and climaxing each season with the French enduro in June.

The direction of the rules for LMP1 laid out in Mexico City was also confirmed by the WMSC.

There will only be on P1 class, which will incorporate hybrid and non-hybrid machinery.

The lap-time performance of the two types of car will be equalized as announced by allowing the non-hybrids to use more fuel per lap, but a fuel-range advantage for hybrids will be maintained.

The advantage given to turbocharged engines by the fuel-flow regulations introduced in 2014 will be removed for the superseason and year one of the winter series in 2019-20 to try to open up more engine options for privateers.

The use of fluidic switches to direct air flow has been banned, says the WMSC statement, in anticipation of potential complex and expensive developments in this area.

]]>“RR-AZ ALUM”…Alex Bowman on moving to the No. 88: “I’m not Dale Earnhardt Jr.”http://racingroundup.com/rr-az-alum-alex-bowman-on-moving-to-the-no-88-im-not-dale-earnhardt-jr/
Thu, 21 Sep 2017 15:45:49 +0000http://racingroundup.com/?p=8945BY: JIM UTTER Alex Bowman is going to take over a very high-profile ride in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series next season but he’s determined to make it a smooth transition. Over the summer, Bowman was named as the replacement for Dale Earnhardt Jr., NASCAR’s most popular driver, after he retires from full-time competition […]

Alex Bowman is going to take over a very high-profile ride in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series next season but he’s determined to make it a smooth transition.

Over the summer, Bowman was named as the replacement for Dale Earnhardt Jr., NASCAR’s most popular driver, after he retires from full-time competition at the conclusion of the 2017 season.

Bowman, 24, served as a substitute driver for Earnhardt last season when Earnhardt missed about half the year while recovering from a concussion. He earned three top-10 finishes, including a sixth at Phoenix after starting from the pole, in Hendrick Motorsports’ No. 88 Chevrolet.

“I’m going to have as much fun as I can,” Bowman said Wednesday during a manufacturer wheel-force transducer test at Texas Motor Speedway. “I’m not Dale Earnhardt Jr. I can only be myself. I’m going to do my thing.

“It’s just a normal race car. It’s not any different from anything that I’ve done. It’s just that we have more tools and more resources to be more competitive.”

Bowman has been without a regular ride this season, making just one national series start, the Atlanta Truck Series race for GMS Racing. The wheel-force test sessions offer Bowman his only on-track preparation for his debut season with HMS.

Although Earnhardt has already signed on with NBC Sports to be a race analyst on its broadcasts next season, Bowman said also expects him to be “a big part” of his No. 88 team.

“He’s a great person to have for support and a great teammate to lean on,” Bowman said of Earnhardt. “I think he is going to be a big part of the team and we’ll kind of just wait and see. He’s been a big part of it so far when I’ve been in the car. I think going forward in 2018 it will be more of the same.”

This week’s test allowed Bowman to get some track time on a track that has undergone extensive renovation and re-paving since his last race there.

“Texas has really changed a lot,” he said. “It’s been really interesting. (Turns) 1 and 2 are definitely tricky. It’s really hard with three cars to get the track rubbered in and blown off.

“I love this place. It’s a great place to come. There seems to be a lot of great fans and it’s always fun to come to Texas.”

After strongly supporting the Verizon IndyCar Series with a four-car operation, team owner Chip Ganassi announced late Wednesday that his team will scale back to two cars in 2018.

“We will be returning to a two-car team beginning in 2018 with Scott Dixon in the No. 9 and a yet-to-be-determined second driver in the No. 10,” Ganassi said in a statement Wednesday. “This decision was based on the fact that we felt we needed to get back to our core business of running two championship-caliber teams.

“It was a tough decision to make as it affects a lot of people. With news like this comes contraction and as such we had to let a number of good people go. The decision was not taken lightly, but we felt it was best for our business. It is one of the toughest things you experience as a business owner –- especially because I am all too aware that it is the people that make any company tick.

“We will be back in 2018 and ready to compete for our 12th IndyCar championship.”

Max Chilton of England is expected to join Carlin Racing for a full-time effort in 2018. Carlin is currently in the Indy Lights Series. Charlie Kimball may join him at that team.

Tony Kanaan is also expected to join A.J. Foyt Racing next season as driver of the famed No. 14 car. Team owner A.J. Foyt and his son Larry Foyt have not decided if they will retain Carlos Munoz or Conor Daly for the second car in 2018.

Dixon finished third in the 2017 championship, behind Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden and Simon Pagenaud. Dixon was the only non-Penske car to finish in the top five in points.

The statement by Ganassi also said, “Chip Ganassi Racing has experienced much success so far in 2017. In the just concluded IndyCar season, Scott Dixon and the No. 9 team competed for a championship and ultimately finished third in the standings. Both CGR NASCAR Cup teams are in the playoffs as well as the No. 48 Xfinity team. Both of our Ford GT programs in IMSA and WEC are also competing for championships.

“Despite the success we are experiencing, we have decided to return our IndyCar program back to two cars beginning with the 2018 season.”

Ganassi was a four-car team as far back as 2011 when the team consisted of Dixon, Dario Franchitti, Graham Rahal and Kimball. It dropped to three cars for one year — in 2013 — after Rahal left to drive for his father’s IndyCar team.

The lineup has included four cars in a full-time championship chase since 2014.

]]>NASCAR Reveals New XFINITY Series Logo..”RR-AZ says HOORAY!!!…Success now guaranteed.” By SPEED SPORT Staff – http://racingroundup.com/nascar-reveals-new-xfinity-series-logo-rr-az-says-hooray-success-now-guaranteed-by-speed-sport-staff/
Wed, 20 Sep 2017 16:31:12 +0000http://racingroundup.com/?p=8941The new NASCAR XFINITY Series logo for the 2018 season CHARLOTTE, N.C. – NASCAR and Comcast released a new NASCAR XFINITY Series logo on Tuesday, with a full rollout coming in 2018. The new look was broadcasted onto the big screen at the NASCAR Hall of Fame as NASCAR XFINITY Series Playoffs Media Day was underway across the street […]

]]>Big Trouble For Allegedly Bribing Their Way Onto One Of F1’s Strictest Tracks BY: STEF SCHRADERhttp://racingroundup.com/big-trouble-for-allegedly-bribing-their-way-onto-one-of-f1s-strictest-tracks-by-stef-schrader/
Wed, 20 Sep 2017 16:29:46 +0000http://racingroundup.com/?p=8939Happy Couple May Be In Screencap via Facebook; Photo credit: Lars Baron/Getty Images If there’s anywhere I wouldn’t want to brag about getting away with anything, it’s Singapore—a country so strict, it banned chewing gum. However, yet again, someone made it onto the track at Singapore when they weren’t supposed to. At least they ventured out […]

If there’s anywhere I wouldn’t want to brag about getting away with anything, it’s Singapore—a country so strict, itbanned chewing gum. However, yet again, someone made it onto the track at Singapore when they weren’t supposed to. At least they ventured out there while the race wasn’trunning this time.

A Facebook screenshot that has been altered to blur faces as well as the poster’s name has made its way ontoYahooandBusiness Insidershowing a happy couple on the Singapore Grand Prix street circuit around 3 a.m. local time.Yahoosays the screencap was first posted by All Singapore Stuff, where it caught the eye of Singapore Grand Prix officials. The post has since been pulled from public view on Facebook.

In the post, the poster brags that the way they got down there was less than legal, having bribed a security guard. He also alleges that the guard even took their photo for them.

Normally, I’d be nodding in approval at what they got away with even though it’s probably not a good look for the security guard, as it’s not such a huge deal at most F1 tracks. You’re usually okay at other venues when you’re escorted by a security official who lets you into somewhere you normally don’t have access to. But this is hyper-strict Singapore, a country thatstillbelieves in caning for offenses as petty asvandalism. This isn’t going to end well for the tourists or the guard.

Singapore Grand Prix organizers are now investigating the photo as an alleged breach in security as well as an alleged bribery incident. A spokesperson for the event said in a statement (as reprinted byYahoo):

The safety of our patrons is of utmost priority and we view the allegation of bribery seriously.

We are working with SRS, the appointed security agency assigned to the reported area, to investigate the claim.

A2015 incidentwhere a man walked onto the track during the Singapore Grand Prix race resulted in six weeks of jail time for him, notesYahoo. Ouch. Here’s hoping this ends better for this happy couple, but I don’t have a lot of faith that it will.Don’tmess around at the southeast Asian F1 races.